ABSTRACT
Dr I. A. Richards takes the keywords, Reasoning, Hypothesis, Fact, and Truth, and finds for these words senses that will render the whole passage self consistent and acceptable in meaning. His attitude to communication becomes of peculiar importance when one culture is to be interpreted to another, and Mencius on the Mind consists largely in the attempt to translate and explain a few psychological passages from the Chinese thinker without distorting their meaning. The one example given, namely the possible absence of 'cognitive contemplation' or 'autonomous cognitive interest' among Chinese thinkers is of doubtful value, for it might be difficult to prove that such a mode of activity occurs even in Western minds. One of the most serious obstacles in the way of interpretation is Mencius' use of blanket terms, each covering what to us are several different meanings.
